A Beach Wedding Ceremony With Zoom Guests From as Far Away as Kazakhstan
Francesca Barker, an event manager for Vogue, GQ, and several other Condé Nast brands, and Ivy Citizens’ CFO/COO Lee McCormick planned on marrying in Italy. The spread of COVID-19 meant they had to switch gears, twice. Initially, in the hopes of still gathering some guests but lessening the travel burden, the couple found a new venue in Laguna Beach, California. But as states shut down and stay-at-home orders were mandated, those plans had to be scrapped. While they still hope to hold a celebration in California later in the year or early in 2021, they had a private ceremony on April 14—their anniversary date—on the beach in front of Lee’s parent’s condo in Perdido Key, Florida, where they’ve been living since March when they left New York City.
Thinking back to more carefree times, Francesca and Lee’s meet-cute sounds like a scene out of The Hangover. “While on a bachelor trip with my brother, a mutual friend sent both Lee and me a message claiming that Lee was my future husband,” Francesca remembers. “I figured they were boys on a bachelor trip in Las Vegas and shrugged it off.” Lee then started following her on social media and occasionally made the bold comment here or there. In April 2018, Lee was passing through New York for a week before taking off on a two-month trip to Europe. On his first day in town, he messaged Francesca saying he and his friends were at the Red Lion and she should join them. “I was with one of my best friends, and I remember telling her that we should go because I had to meet this doesn’t-hold-back, says-what-he-wants-to, gutsy guy,” Francesca explains. “That moment [when we met] was unlike any other I had experienced before. We then proceeded to go on a date every single night that week before he departed for Europe, and haven’t gone a day without talking to or seeing each other since.”
A year and a half later, Lee proposed after leading Francesca on a scavenger hunt throughout New York City that included all of their date spots from that first week together. “He then told me we were going home to drop off our belongings and then head out for a dinner he had planned,” Francesca recalls. When she entered the apartment and noticed the back door was open to the courtyard, she looked out to see what was going on and was surprised by friends and family, some of whom had flown in from as far away as Kazakhstan.
Francesca never pictured herself having a beach wedding—humidity and wind are not her thing—but given the circumstances, she and Lee chose to embrace the surroundings they found themselves in on their anniversary. They didn’t add any frills to the beach backdrop, following the motto of simple, but significant. “We knew that the April 14 date was important to our relationship and wanted to make the day work no matter what,” Francesca says. “Instead of fretting over planning the perfect wedding day, we chose to simply choose each other and start our lives together.”
Francesca found an officiant and a local photographer online, and her mom surprised them by shipping a bouquet, a boutonniere (both of which were from KellyCo Flowers), and a wedding cake (from the Cake Gallery) for them to enjoy on the day of. “This surprise truly left me speechless,” Francesca remembers, adding that it was touching “to see small businesses creatively deliver such excellence, given our circumstances.”
About a week or two before the beach ceremony, Francesca went on Moda Operandi and found the Acler dress she wore. “I wanted a white dress that had some sort of feature that made it stand out from your typical white sundress,” Francesca says. “Acler has such great, bold details—when I saw the shoulders and the intricate cut of the chest, I knew it would be perfect.” She’d brought blue denim Chanel flats down to Florida with her and thought they worked perfectly as her “something blue.”
The day started with a walk. “We discussed our day ahead, future, and building our lives together,” Francesca remembers. “It was beautiful out, and we were able to inspire each other with hope and excitement of what was to come, even during these trying and difficult times.”
The ceremony that followed was minimal. “There was no fluff. It was very bare-bones, but with all of the sentiment and love that was important to us,” Francesca says. “Lee’s best friend, Danny, and his girlfriend were there, as we’ve been quarantining together. Danny filmed the entire thing, and Kelly was on standby for the last-minute requests that came about, including Lee and I forgetting to bring the marriage license down to the beach with us for our officiant to sign!”
After the ceremony, the newlyweds had a celebratory post-wedding toast with their families via Zoom. Then, Francesca and Lee cut the cake and reveled in the moment.
Francesca is the first to admit that she’d never really dreamed about what her wedding would look like. “But I do know that for intimate moments, I’m not one for crowds,” she says. “Working in events, I’ve grown very accustomed to big moments happening in front of others—so much so that I think I’ve become very protective over those moments in my life. So for our wedding to just be about the two of us choosing to love and be with each other for the rest of our lives felt like it simply couldn’t get any better. In that moment, and now looking back, it’s what my heart has always wished for.”
She adds: “Life is unpredictable. There will always be variables that can’t be controlled. In those times, it’s important to adapt, yet stay true to what is most important—and for us, that was making this commitment to each other.”
Shore Shooters Beach Photography1/16We had such a serene afternoon to say our vows to each other. The quiet beach surroundings seemed so perfect for our commitment to spend the rest of our lives together.
Shore Shooters Beach Photography2/16I had secretly been in touch with the Marisa Perry team in New York City and had them send the wedding band Lee had been eyeing. Finding the right wedding band for me is still in the works, so we used my engagement ring for the time being—it worked perfectly!
